Thursday, 5 July 2012

Blood Donation Facts - Why You Should Give

If you need a reason to come out to the Winnipeg Blood Drive Tweet-Up on Monday, July 9th from 4-7pm @ 777 William Ave, here are some facts on why blood donation is so important.

Every minute of every day someone in Canada needs blood. That’s why Canadian Blood Services is rallying communities to come together and help their fellow citizens who need blood. We need you to rally your friends and family to give blood together. Every donation helps save up to three lives so when you bring more people, more patients benefit.

52 percent of Canadians saying they or a family member have needed blood for surgery or medical treatment, your donation will be greatly appreciated by many who have been directly impacted by the need for blood.

While there is a continuous need for all blood types, there is always a greater need for blood donors with O-negative blood.

As the universal donor, O-negative blood is always in need. If a hospital patient requires a blood transfusion in an emergency situation, and if there is no time to determine the patient’s blood type, O-negative blood can be used.

By 2015, Canadian Blood Services will need to grow the overall donor base to 500,000 as the demand for blood and blood products will continue to grow. So to meet Canada’s future blood needs we must encourage more Canadians to become regular blood donors now.

How Much Blood Does it Take?One blood donation equals one unit of blood. For instance, it can take:

50 units of blood to help someone in a motor vehicle collision

2 units to help someone who needs brain surgery

5 units to help someone in cancer treatment

8 units a week to help someone with leukemia

5 units to save someone who needs cardiovascular surgery

One ‘Unit’ of blood is 500 mL, which is what each donor gives at every donation

If you have any questions or would like to sign up for the 20 spots we have at the tweet-up, please @ me on twitter (@kurchenko) or email at medlabmaven (at) gmail (dot) com.